Chad Tracy Gets 3-Year Deal

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Well the Yankees just blew us out and added an even better bat to their team in Judge.

513 OPS since coming off the IL. IDK how well he's going to play this offseason. With his body type, his career may be heading in the wrong direction. 

[drewski6]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

Getting a big bat is easier said than done.  The free agent market will have names like Arozarena and Suzuki (who probably re-signs with Chicago) and not much else. Ryan Jeffers is a top 5 slugger at a minimum there, and might even be top three. I think Josh Bell, a quietly good hitter, is available, but is also the slugger equivalent of vanilla ice cream.

Once the CBA cloud settles, trade?  Would you trade Abreu, Arias, and Bennett for Fernando Tatis (8 yrs $270mill and still somehow only 27 years old for what seems like 4 years now)?  If SD is looking to shed payroll, would they do this? (They are looking to shed payroll, but Jake Cronenworth is the payroll they prefer to move.)

That does seem like a good package for Tatis.  I think it makes them think hard, but not so sure they go for it…

I dont think its a one bat fix.  I think we need a philosophical reset and stop looking at things like WAR and start looking at things like weight room and ability to hit the ball to the fence.  I want 20 homerun power threats up and down the lineup.

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

513 OPS since coming off the IL. IDK how well he's going to play this offseason. With his body type, his career may be heading in the wrong direction. 

My point is that they blew us out and have Judge returning for 2027.  And they were a four seed in the weaker conference.

We fell significantly behind the top tier teams right now.

[NHNative]

1 minute ago, drewski6 said:

I dont think its a one bat fix.  I think we need a philosophical reset and stop looking at things like WAR and start looking at things like weight room and ability to hit the ball to the fence.  I want 20 homerun power threats up and down the lineup.

And good hit placement bringing bases home...like during the streak.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I dont think its a one bat fix.  I think we need a philosophical reset and stop looking at things like WAR and start looking at things like weight room and ability to hit the ball to the fence.  I want 20 homerun power threats up and down the lineup.

They aren't looking at WAR TBF. They are looking at: bat speed, pull %, exit velo. They need to spend more time how to just simply learn how to attack pitches and pitchers rather than learning how to swing hard. 

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

My point is that they blew us out and have Judge returning for 2027.  And they were a four seed in the weaker conference.

We fell significantly behind the top tier teams right now.

For next season? Probably not a pretty picture. Breslow has made a bunch of moves the past two seasons. He's also left a lot of dead wood on the roster as well. Hard to say right now. 

[drewski6]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

They aren't looking at WAR TBF. They are looking at: bat speed, pull %, exit velo. They need to spend more time how to just simply learn how to attack pitches and pitchers rather than learning how to swing hard. 

I do think they are wayyyy too passive and their approach is garbage.  But most people complaining about approach are just old-school folks screaming about working counts and not swinging at balls, and i dont want to join that chorus because its not even what they teach.

You need to stay ready for fastballs in your red zones. YOu need to keep your eye in your own red zone.  You need to hunt your pitches.  YOu do not need to worry about not swinging on balls.

A curveball that is below the zone, and a ball, but not in the dirt....Is a meatball if you are a low ball hitter and you guessed curveball.

Its about guessing pitches and guessing location.  And realizing that 0-0 is a hitters count.  

[Bellhorn04]

26 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Managers have been managing the postseason like this for several years right now. Tracy is just following Breslow's directive about starting pitchers and the 3rd time through the order in the playoffs. 

I'm sure you're right.

[southpaw777]

6 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I'm sure you're right.

Pretty sure a gray and Tolle are a little sour because they didn’t trust them to get out of the inning. I don’t blame them. It’s a pretty dumb idea to rely on middle relievers and not the two horses that they got you there. 

[notin]

38 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I dont think it’s a one bat fix.  I think we need a philosophical reset and stop looking at things like WAR and start looking at things like weight room and ability to hit the ball to the fence.  I want 20 homerun power threats up and down the lineup.

Along with the Red Sox and the highest scoring team in MLB, the team that lead MLB in home runs also got eliminated yesterday.

Again, there’s no magic formula beyond just being good at baseball as a team…

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Anthony was still injured. He shouldn't have come back. 

He did hide it fairly well with his 1.008 OPS over the last 8 games…

[notin]

51 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

My point is that they blew us out and have Judge returning for 2027.  And they were a four seed in the weaker conference.

We fell significantly behind the top tier teams right now.

Well, four seed doesn’t mean 4th best team.  The third seed was a pathetic 81-81 and didn’t belong in the postseason at all.

Yankees had the second best record in the AL.  That outdated playoff formats seed them behind teams that put up worse records while playing easier schedules doesn’t change this…

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, notin said:

He did hide it fairly well with his 1.008 OPS over the last 8 games…

He said himself that he still had pain when he came back. 

[Old Red]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Your obsession with certain players' failures, then never letting go, needs some self-reflection at best or some serious therapy sessions.

Of course I don’t overhype SUSPECTS like you, and others do, so to you I’m the one who needs help. NOman little Anthony did not live up to the hype, and expectations pretty much before he got hurt, when he was hurt, and most of the time after he came back, and certainly his feeble attempt to hit a baseball against the Yankees in his two AB was a pretty much an expected end to his season.That’s the facts, and it seems you can’t handle the truth. Better luck next year.

[mvp 78]

22 minutes ago, notin said:

Along with the Red Sox and the highest scoring team in MLB, the team that lead MLB in home runs also got eliminated yesterday.

Again, there’s no magic formula beyond just being good at baseball as a team…

Sure, AS A TEAM. If your team has an achilles heel like the offense was, they are not a good team.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

42 minutes ago, notin said:

Along with the Red Sox and the highest scoring team in MLB, the team that lead MLB in home runs also got eliminated yesterday.

Again, there’s no magic formula beyond just being good at baseball as a team…

And the Phillies -- also on the WC road with a record similar to the Red Sox -- live another day because of home runs. And lost the day before on a homer.

But where Brez pivoted to run prevention, Dombro has always been about starting pitching and HRs (Price, Sale, JDH Martinez). 

We all know which plan costs more and why Henry changed CBOs.

[southpaw777]

Starting pitching and the long ball wins championships most every time…

we had the former and Breslow/Tracy decide to not trust them the third time through the lineup in the playoffs? Really? They did all year, why not now in the most important game?  It’s a stupid ass plan. 
 They got rid of their only legit 30hr guy and never replaced him. We have a load of 250 streaky hitters in the lineup and a couple 20hr guys. Pathetic. 

 

[Old Red]

57 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He said himself that he still had pain when he came back. 

He seems to have at the very least tweaked' or aggregate his hand in the last regular season game when he was shaking his hand, and Merloni pointed out he was seen with a wrap on his hand, which he hadn’t seen recently.

[southpaw777]

5 minutes ago, Old Red said:

He seems to have at the very least tweaked' or aggregate his hand in the last regular season game when he was shaking his hand, and Merloni pointed out he was seen with a wrap on his hand, which he hadn’t seen recently.

They brought him back too soon. Kid looks visibly bothered by it both physically and emotionally. Take the long offseason and get better/healthy so we can see what he’s really capable of.

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Sure, AS A TEAM. If your team has an achilles heel like the offense was, they are not a good team.

But that doesn’t mean you put eight 20 HR hitters on the field and let the defense sort itself out…

[mvp 78]

26 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

Starting pitching and the long ball wins championships most every time…

we had the former and Breslow/Tracy decide to not trust them the third time through the lineup in the playoffs? Really? They did all year, why not now in the most important game?  It’s a stupid ass plan. 
 They got rid of their only legit 30hr guy and never replaced him. We have a load of 250 streaky hitters in the lineup and a couple 20hr guys. Pathetic. 

Glasnow, Yesavage, Scherzer all had starts that got pulled before the 5th ended in the WS last year. Pulling starters early in the playoffs has been going on for a while now. It's just up to the bullpen to pull their weight. 

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

But that doesn’t mean you put eight 20 HR hitters on the field and let the defense sort itself out…

No, they need to be a well rounded team that can pitch, field and hit. I'd shoot for top 10 in all three. Right now, the hitting isn't there. Pitching and defense can help you pile up wins in the regular season against bad teams (like MIL does every season), but you are very likely to flame out in the postseason (like MIL does every season). 

[notin]

55 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

And the Phillies -- also on the WC road with a record similar to the Red Sox -- live another day because of home runs. And lost the day before on a homer.

But where Brez pivoted to run prevention, Dombro has always been about starting pitching and HRs (Price, Sale, JDH Martinez). 

We all know which plan costs more and why Henry changed CBOs.

I wouldn’t characterize this year’s Phillies as a home run team.  They were 17th on MLB in home runs and their total homers was closer to Boston’s than it was to their opponent Atlanta (7th in home runs).  And so far this post-season, the Phillies have one more home run than Boston and their total homers is same amount in each team’s first 18 innings.

Both teams did run into some serious pitching in game one as well.

The Sox do need more power, but if the Phillies teach any lesson, it’s the impact one power hitter can have.  Schwarber alone hit a quarter of their home runs and appears to have single-handedly changed the perception of that team if they’re going to be the example of the impact of home runs.

Philly not giving up 18 runs in the first two games was probably a bigger factor in still being alive while Boston is done.

[notin]

24 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

No, they need to be a well rounded team that can pitch, field and hit. I'd shoot for top 10 in all three. Right now, the hitting isn't there. Pitching and defense can help you pile up wins in the regular season against bad teams (like MIL does every season), but you are very likely to flame out in the postseason (like MIL does every season). 

I agree, but it’s hard to call “be good at everything” any sort of formula as opposed to “let’s put 20 HR hitters up and down the lineup” like the Sox used to do back when they annually got October off (although in an era with fewer postseason teams).

By the way, the Brewers were second in runs scored in all of MLB this season.  3rd in runs scored last year, and 6th in 2024.  Not so sure they’re solely a pitching/defense team….

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

I agree, but it’s hard to call “be good at everything” any sort of formula as opposed to “let’s put 20 HR hitters up and down the lineup” like the Sox used to do back when they annually got October off (although in an era with fewer postseason teams).

By the way, the Brewers were second in runs scored in all of MLB this season.  Not so sure they’re solely a pitching/defense team right now.

MIL was 3rd in runs last year too. They'll see similar postseason success in '26. 

What 20 HR team are you referring to? The '03 team was the best offense they ever had and got very, very close to a WS. They just had a frighteningly bad pen and Grady Little. 

[southpaw777]

40 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Glasnow, Yesavage, Scherzer all had starts that got pulled before the 5th ended in the WS last year. Pulling starters early in the playoffs has been going on for a while now. It's just up to the bullpen to pull their weight. 

I get that but this wasn’t the right choice here. They made that plan before the game and should have gone with how the game was going. It was far from out of hand with either guy. Who cares if there was some traffic, one guy crossed the plate for Tolle and 2 for Gray. 83 and 70 pitches? Sorry, I’ll never agree with that line of thinking. CAsh blew a WS game by pulling his Ace early. Haven’t been there since in 18 years.

Gray and Tolle pitched against this team all year. Let them make adjustments on the mound. They’re top starters in the league. That’s what they do. I would trust them to finish that inning more than anyone out of the pen. Sad they don’t trust their top two starters. 
 

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He said that he still had pain when he came back and that it got worse than ever during the WC game which is why he was shut down. I hope the Sox can get to the root of the issue and fix it. Rest didn't seem to do the trick. This guy was supposed to be the franchise and putting him out there when he was injured isn't smart to me. 

I hear the same thing about the Astros medical staff and longer than projected recover times, so I'm not sure our set up is any worse than others, but it seems like we continually wait and wait- only to end up with a less than ready player, a player who gets hurt again, or a player that should have had surgery right off.

It's hard to know what to expect from all these guys who were on the IL for most of this year ro to end the season (or both.)

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Of course I don’t overhype SUSPECTS like you, and others do, so to you I’m the one who needs help. NOman little Anthony did not live up to the hype, and expectations pretty much before he got hurt, when he was hurt, and most of the time after he came back, and certainly his feeble attempt to hit a baseball against the Yankees in his two AB was a pretty much an expected end to his season.That’s the facts, and it seems you can’t handle the truth. Better luck next year.

Fantasy land.

[mvp 78]

16 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

I get that but this wasn’t the right choice here. They made that plan before the game and should have gone with how the game was going. It was far from out of hand with either guy.

They stuck with the plan because it gives the best chance to keep the game 1-0 or 2-0 before the game gets out of hand. Unfortunately, the bullpen stunk. 

That's the way baseball has been heading for a while now. I understand the frustration, but when the went to Miller a second time, it's clear that it was an organizational mandate prior to the playoffs even starting. 

[notin]

43 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

MIL was 3rd in runs last year too. They'll see similar postseason success in '26. 

What 20 HR team are you referring to? The '03 team was the best offense they ever had and got very, very close to a WS. They just had a frighteningly bad pen and Grady Little. 

Drewski’s comment about wanting 20 HR hitters up and down the lineup.

Would it be fun to watch?  Yes, but only when they’re at bat.  Would they win a title? Probably not…